Getting There: Take the bus to Taksim Square from the airport. From there you can walk. I angrily took a taxi from Taksim because I couldn’t find the hotel.

En route to Mongolia, I managed to get a night in Istanbul on the same itinerary because the rule dictates that anything under 24 hours is not a stopover, but a layover.

Just like my splurge aboard SQ A380 from NRT-LAX, I rationalized that I deserved one more night of pampering. I spent 20,000 Hyatt GoldPassport points as the Park Hyatt is a category 5 hotel. The room was around $350 so it fell a bit short of my 2 cent/point standard. Regardless, there are no Park Hyatts let alone a Hyatt House in Mongolia so I can forgive myself for breaking the points piggy bank.

The Location

The Park Hyatt is situated in an upscale part of town with fine shops and dining nearby. Right across the street is a great but expensive kebab place that I highly recommend. It goes without saying that I am a connoisseur of kebab, as all Arabs claim to be. The hotel is not walking distance to the Bosphorus, home to the best nightlife of Istanbul. As this was my second time in Istanbul, I was more interested in the food not the fun.

Welcome to the Park Hyatt Istanbul

The Service

It’s a Park Hyatt. As usual, the service was impeccable. I was shown to my room and given a detailed tour of all the features. The best was how to change the overhead light color above the tub.

The Room

Usually as a platinum, Hyatt members, are given a lukewarm upgrade which is hit or miss depending on the hotel and the effectiveness of your personality with the front-desk. This was not the case, or I am ignorant if it was the case, at the Park Hyatt Istanbul. The room I received as a platinum not diamond member was stunning.

The dawn of a new business day. Richard Quest’s finest hour.The mini mini barThe mark of a great hotel.Turkish Delight welcome gift.This is my favorite feature. The water is purified for drinking.Note the separate sink for non-drinking water. Also, hotels that offer toothbrush and toothpaste are ahead of the rest because they recognize the convenience of it.More of my drinking water obsession.For the spa tub.A great shower, excellent soaps, and convenient towels.The large bathroomThis isn’t the hotel for views, at least not this room.The pool from my room.

The Breakfast

Oh, I’m a platinum, no free breakfast for me, not even with my negotiation skills. I’ll go for kebab then.

The Amenities

There’s a nice pool on the 2nd floor which I refused to swim in because I knew it was the last time I would see an outdoor pool for a while.

Not MongoliaPool loungeThe pool

The Hotel

The hotel is gorgeous from inside and out. It has an intimate feel that, a recognizable attribute of Park Hyatts.

The lobbyThat’s my dude right here.Lobby by day

The Kebab

Why write a separate post? If you’re staying at this hotel and are reading this, you will thank me for providing it here.

Took a pic of the menu because I would never recall the name.shwayeh khooboez, shwayehh jajik (bread and yogurt)Mongolia? Really?lahmeh ageen (I don’t know how to translate this.)Kebab!

No that’s not what you wrote originally. Your site said yesterday “En route to Mongolia, I managed to get a night in Istanbul on the same itinerary because the rule dictates that anything under 24 hours is a stopover.” – that’s what I read and what Google’s cache also shows. No biggie, but acknowledge this (tiny!) mistake instead of editing and then claiming that’s what you wrote all along.